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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to soften his stance following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the franchise given to other people". He continued: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

However, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Budget Concerns

Yet, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, questioning the financial investment. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."